What is the HAIL?

The Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL) is a compilation of activities and industries that are considered likely to cause land contamination resulting from hazardous substance use, storage or disposal. The HAIL is intended to identify most situations in New Zealand where hazardous substances could cause, and in many cases have caused, land contamination.

The HAIL groups similar industries together, which typically use or store hazardous substances that could cause contamination if these substances escaped from safe storage, were disposed of on the site, or were lost to the environment through their use.

The fact that an activity or industry appears on the list does not mean that hazardous substances were used or stored on all sites occupied by that activity or industry, nor that a site of this sort will have hazardous substances present in the land. The list merely indicates that such activities and industries are more likely to use or store hazardous substances and therefore there is a greater probability of site contamination occurring than other uses or activities. Conversely, an activity or industry that does not appear on the list does not guarantee such a site will not be contaminated. Each case must be considered on its merits, considering the information at hand.

In applying the list, it must be remembered that particular activities are a small part of a particular industry, with the activity generally localised within larger sites. For example, animal dip sites are listed, but farming is not. This is because dip sites are only a small part of a farm and farming, and in general, do not have a high potential to spread contamination over the complete farm. Therefore, the possibility of contamination will only be for a part of the land.

Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL): October 2011

A. Chemical manufacture, application and bulk storage

Agrichemicals including commercial premises used by spray contractors for filling, storing or washing out tanks for agrichemical application

Chemical manufacture, formulation or bulk storage

Commercial analytical laboratory sites

Corrosives including formulation or bulk storage

Dry-cleaning plants including dry-cleaning premises or the bulk storage of dry-cleaning solvents

Pest control including the premises of commercial pest control operators or any authorities that carry out pest control where bulk storage or preparation of pesticide occurs, including preparation of poisoned baits or filling or washing of tanks for pesticide application

Petroleum or petrochemical industries including a petroleum depot, terminal, blending plant or refinery, or facilities for recovery, reprocessing or recycling petroleum-based materials, or bulk storage of petroleum or petrochemicals above or below ground

Pharmaceutical manufacture including the commercial manufacture, blending, mixing or formulation of pharmaceuticals, including animal remedies or the manufacturing of illicit drugs with the potential for environmental discharges

Metalliferous ore processing including the chemical or physical extraction of metals, including smelting, refining, fusing or refining metals

Engineering workshops with metal fabrication

E. Mineral extraction, refining and reprocessing, storage and use

Asbestos products manufacture or disposal including sites with buildings containing asbestos products known to be in a deteriorated condition

Asphalt or bitumen manufacture or bulk storage (excluding single-use sites used by a mobile asphalt plant)

Cement or lime manufacture using a kiln including the storage of wastes from the manufacturing process

Commercial concrete manufacture or commercial cement storage

Coal or coke yards

Hydrocarbon exploration or production including well sites or flare pits

Mining industries (excluding gravel extraction) including exposure of faces or release of groundwater containing hazardous contaminants, or the storage of hazardous wastes including waste dumps or dam tailings